UAE Foreign Minister to visit India next week

NEW DELHI: Days after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the UAE, its Foreign Minister Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan will visit India next week to co-chair Joint Commission meeting with his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj on key issues of energy and trade.

The visit of the minister, who will be accompanied by a 70-member strong delegation, is aimed at taking bilateral relations to a "new high", official sources in the UAE embassy said. Representatives from sectors as diverse as finance, health, education, agriculture, civil aviation, besides officials from the banking sector, tourism and energy would be part of the his delegation, they said. "It is significant to note that how quickly the UAE has responded to Prime Minister Modi's call for cooperation between these two countries almost in every sector to take the bilateral relationship to a new height," the sources said. The Minister will be attending the two-day long Joint Commission Meeting starting on September 2.

Modi's visit to UAE, first by an Indian premier in 34 years, has given a "new boost" to the investors of the fastest growing Arab economy, they said. "The UAE was and is very keen for investment in India, and the bilateral trade between these two friendly countries reflects in reality," the sources added. Modi's maiden visit to the UAE provided a strategic opportunity to draw a new blueprint for taking bilateral ties forward, including in areas of counter-terrorism, defence and economy, Nahyan had said.